Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County against C4D, LLC, its owners Travis Benoit and Steven Legatt, and related entity Five Points Properties, LLC, alleging 18 counts of violating the Minnesota Human Rights Act, federal lending laws, and state consumer-fraud and contract-for-deed laws. The complaint alleges the defendants sold homes through predatory contracts for deed with inflated prices, hidden finance charges, and large annual balloon payments that leave buyers immediately underwater and forfeit all equity upon default, while targeting Somali-American Muslims on the basis of religion and national origin — a form of 'reverse redlining.' The AG seeks an injunction, civil penalties, and cancellation or reformation of existing contracts; no penalty amounts have been determined.
The AG asks the court to stop the defendants from continuing their unlawful practices, impose civil penalties, and cancel or reform existing contracts for deed where necessary to remedy consumer injuries. Because this is a newly filed complaint rather than a settlement or order, no penalty amounts or final remedies have been set.
Although this is a fair-lending and consumer-protection action rather than a privacy enforcement matter, it signals major contract risk for any business using seller financing, installment sales, or contract-for-deed structures. In-house teams should review contract-for-deed and installment sale templates for Truth in Lending Act disclosure compliance (accurate finance charges, total cost of credit, and balloon payment schedules), state contract-for-deed statutory requirements (cancellation procedures, cure periods, foreclosure protections), and forfeiture clauses that terminate contracts after a single missed payment or short cure window. Marketing and lead-generation agreements should be audited for fair-housing and fair-lending risk — particularly any targeting of customers by religion, national origin, or race, which supports reverse-redlining claims under the Minnesota Human Rights Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act — and vendor or broker agreements should include anti-discrimination representations, compliance warranties, and indemnities. Pricing schedules, fee disclosures, and equity/refinance provisions should also be reviewed to ensure the total consumer cost is transparent and not structurally designed to trigger default and forfeiture.
Entity
C4D, LLC
Industry
Real Estate"filed a lawsuit against C4D, LLC (“C4D”), its owners Travis Benoit and Steven Legatt, and a related entity called Five Points Properties, LLC"
"filed a lawsuit"
"September 9, 2026 (SAINT PAUL)"
"violated multiple state and federal laws by selling houses via predatory and illegal contracts for deed; used deceptive trade practices to market their contracts for deed; and discriminated against Somali-American Muslims by leveraging their religious beliefs to target them with particularly abusive and deceptive contracts for deed — a form of reverse redlining"
"Attorney General Ellison alleges 18 counts of violating the Minnesota Human Rights Act; the federal Truth in Lending Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and Consumer Financial Protection Act; Minnesota state laws against consumer fraud and deception trade practices; and Minnesota contract for deed requirements."
"asks the court to stop the C4D defendants from continuing their unlawful practices, impose civil penalties on the defendants, and to cancel or reform existing contracts when necessary to remedy injuries consumers have or will suffer"
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a consumer alert explaining how veterans, their families, and others who believe Trajector Holdings owes them money can file claims in the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The release announces no privacy violation, enforcement penalty, or remedy against the company.
Minnesota and 39 other attorneys general filed a notice in Character Technologies, Inc.’s bankruptcy proceedings raising concerns about the company’s safety and privacy practices and the sensitive information it holds, including children’s private chatbot conversations. The states seek protections for consumers in any sale or transfer of the business or assets; the filing does not impose a penalty or establish a final remedy.
The Minnesota Attorney General filed an Assurance of Discontinuance requiring Auto Tech Donations, Inc. to dissolve after finding that its solicitations and governance did not comply with state requirements. Its president was banned from forming or serving as an officer or director of nonprofits and must provide restitution to donors whose vehicles he resold for personal benefit.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and a coalition of 26 states, counties, and cities filed a lawsuit challenging NHTSA’s rule weakening fuel-economy standards for new cars and light trucks. The coalition alleges the rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Energy Policy and Conservation Act; the press release describes a lawsuit filing, not a monetary penalty or final judgment.
A federal court granted summary judgment to Minnesota AG Keith Ellison and a coalition of 22 attorneys general in their lawsuit challenging the CFPB Acting Director’s decision not to seek funding. The court held the refusal unlawful and required the current Acting Director to request necessary funding so the CFPB can continue operating.
$35.0M
Minnesota, the FTC, and a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general reached a proposed settlement with Corteva over alleged loyalty programs that restricted pesticide distributors from buying lower-cost generic products. Corteva must end the challenged practices, comply with restrictions for 10 years, and pay $35 million to the state plaintiffs, including $1.25 million to Minnesota.